I took the Born Free for a full 3 weeks. My group visited Bad Lands, Custer, Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain with a bunch of impromptu stops along the way. I drove the entirety of the trip with 4 of my friends (and 6 for just 2 days) in the back. It was my first time driving an RV although I have driven a few larger vehicles in the past. I would definitely recommend this vehicle to future groups.Party Size:
In my opinion, a group of 3-4 average-sized adults is the perfect group for this vehicle. After that you'll be a little bit cramped, especially if you have any high-maintenance people in your group. If you have 2 adults with 2-3 children that is also a perfect-sized group as kids will love to sleep up in the bunk (it was my favorite place to sleep). Pack light and don't fill all the cabinets with food because I guarantee you'll overpack and bring too much food - you'll want that extra space. We typically kept everything up top and then moved everything onto the front seats when we wanted to go to sleep. The shower can be a little tough for anyone overweight or taller than 6 feet (as can the toilet) but its an RV so I'm sure you knew that already.Driver Notes:
Keep in mind this was my very first time driving an RV so this might be especially helpful if you are also a novice. Firstly, if your GPS said ETA in 10 hours, you'll be there in about 14-15. Do not go by GPS time, go by RV time. You're not going to be able to keep up with the cars on roads with 80 mph speed limits. Don't get me wrong, you can get the RV up to 80 mph but you shouldn't for 2 reasons: 1. It is miserable for everyone not in the driver seat and 2. You'll dislodge plumbing, electrical work, and likely break things in the back (this happened to me and it was easily avoidable). Just don't do it. Enjoy the ride and go at a comfortable speed. I typically set cruise control around 55 mph and broke my trip up into 4-6 hour trips whenever possible. On my first day (before I had any idea of RV driving time) I drove the entire day and it was a rough one. It is not fun driving this thing at night in certain areas with animals jumping across the road and downhill turns. Try to do your driving during the day when it's easiest to see. I would say the other big thing to be cognizant of is downhill drives. You want to stay in 2nd gear and now wear out the brakes. We had brand new brakes so I didn't have to worry, but when you're going downhill with all that weight for long periods of time, they are going to get hot. Don't put yourself in a stupid situation.RV Maintenance:
We were surprised by how little we spent on gas. I dumped and kept the water tank as empty as possible when driving so that we would have as little weight as possible. When you dump you'll want to make sure the left side of the RV is poised lower for an easy dump. It's a pain when you are too far away or uneven and everything keeps getting stuck/backed up. Each time you stop, check that all your outside panels, latches, etc., are still securely closed. We almost lost the dump hose and almost lost the battery because I drove too fast and the bumping up and down caused some latches to become unlodged. You really want to be wary of your speed for this reason.Lastly, Francis was fantastic. He's probably the best host you'll get on Outdoorsy. He really took care of us. He made sure we were comfortable and made sure we had everything we'd need for the trip. He also listened to all of my feedback to make for better experiences in the future. You can't go wrong renting from him. Have fun!